Wang Shichong - Reign

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.