Emperor Yang Guang of Sui, the second son born to Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, and Empress Wenxian, Dugu Qieluo, was born in Chang'an. Handsome and exceptionally intelligent from an early age, he was cherished by Yang Jian and soon enfeoffed as Duke of Yanmen Commandery.
In the first year of the Kaihuang era, he was made Prince of Jin and appointed Pillar of State and Governor-General of Bingzhou. He was thirteen at the time. Later, he was appointed General of the Left Guard, promoted to Senior Pillar of State, and made Chancellor of the Hebei Circuit, among other posts.
In the twentieth year of the Kaihuang era, he was made crown prince.
In the fourth year of the Renshou era, in the seventh month, he officially ascended the throne, and had ruled ever since.
According to the stories told beyond the court, he was ambitious and vainglorious, arrogant and extravagant. He had the Grand Canal built, launched three campaigns against Goguryeo, constructed Luoyang and established it as the eastern capital, and squandered the people's labor in pursuit of luxury. In the end, this supposedly sparked peasant uprisings throughout the Great Sui and plunged the realm into chaos.
Some even claimed that although rebel armies were rising everywhere and the people were suffering, Yang Guang remained consumed by pleasure and paid no heed to state affairs, gradually weakening the realm until it stood on the brink of collapse.
Of course, no one knew whether the last two claims were true. That was simply what people said in the markets and taverns. And the more the stories spread, the more people believed them. The truth hardly mattered; it could not change the fact that the Great Sui was battered by storms and nearing its decline.
In short!
Even as signs