Yuwen Shu - During Emperor Wen's Reign

During Emperor Wen's Reign

In 681, Yang Jian had Emperor Xuan's young son Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and starting Sui Dynasty as its Emperor Wen. Yuwen Shu served as a general for Sui. In winter 688, when Emperor Wen launched a major attack on rival Chen Dynasty, Yuwen Shu participated in the campaign, and after the generals Han Qinhu (韓擒虎) and Heruo Bi (賀若弼) crossed the Yangtze River to attack the Chen capital Jiankang, Yuwen advanced to the nearby fortress of Shitou to aid Han and Heruo. After Heruo and Han captured Jiankang and the Chen emperor Chen Shubao, the Chen generals Xiao Huan (蕭瓛) and Xiao Yan (蕭巖) were holding out in modern Zhejiang. Yuwen was sent, along with Yan Rong (燕榮), to attack Xiao Huan and Xiao Yan, and he defeated Xiao Huan and forced Xiao Yan to surrender. After the completion of the campaign, in recognition of his contributions, Emperor Wen gave his son Yuwen Huaji a mid-level governmental post, while making Yuwen Shu himself the commandant at An Province (安州, roughly modern Xiaogan, Hubei).

After the campaign against Chen, Emperor Wen's son Yang Guang the Prince of Jin, who was in overall command of the campaign against Chen, became the commandant at Yang Province (揚州, roughly modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). Yuwen Shu was friendly with Yang Guang, and Yang Guang, whose ambitions included displacing his older brother Yang Yong the Crown Prince as his father's heir, therefore requested in 600 and received Emperor Wen's approval to have Yuwen's command post moved to Shou Province (壽州, roughly modern Lu'an, Anhui), closer to Yang Guang's post. At one point, Yang Guang consulted Yuwen Shu as to how he could displace his brother. Yuwen suggested entering an alliance with the powerful official Yang Su -- and forming the relationship with Yang Su through Yang Su's brother and confidant Yang Yue (楊約). Yang Guang therefore gave Yuwen much treasure and had him go to the capital Chang'an to try to meet Yang Yue. Yuwen offered some of the treasures pillaged from Chen to Yang Yue, and then also intentionally lost to Yang Yue when the gambled. After he had become sufficiently familiar to Yang Yue, he revealed to Yang Yue that it was Yang Guang's intent to enter into an alliance with Yang Su -- persuading Yang Yue that given that Yang Su did not have a warm relationship with Yang Yong, his family would be in danger if Yang Yong were to succeed Emperor Wen. Yang Yue, in turn, persuaded Yang Su, who subsequently persuaded Emperor Wen and Emperor Wen's wife Empress Dugu Qieluo that Yang Yong should be deposed. Emperor Wen and Empress Dugu agreed, and in 600 Emperor Wen deposed Yang Yong and replaced him with Yang Guang. Yang Guang made Yuwen Shu a commander of his palace guards and gave his daughter, the Princess Nanyang, to Yuwen Shu's son Yuwen Shiji (宇文士及) in marriage.

In 604, while Emperor Wen was ill, Yuwen Shu was one of the guard commanders that Yang Guang summoned to guard Emperor Wen's vacation palace Renshou Palace (仁壽宮, in modern Baoji, Shaanxi). Emperor Wen soon died -- a death that traditional historians, while admitting a lack of direct evidence, generally believed to be a murder ordered by Yang Guang. Yang Guang then took the throne as Emperor Yang, and he put Yang Yong to death.