#81 - Sui 5: Disintegration

With its push against Goguryeo rather catastrophically stalled out, the whole enterprise begins to unravel with spectacular speed for the Sui Dynasty. All the while, its Emperor Yang will maintain a disturbingly unaffected demeanor for the suffering his edicts are creating across the countryside - in large part because his lackeys have created a "reality-distortion filter" around him they'll literally kill to maintain. But elsewhere, agents of insurrection will rise to challenge the waning star that is Sui China, especially in the form of one Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang and his family. Time Period Covered: 614-618 CE Major Historical Figures: Sui Emperor Yang of Sui Empress Xiao Prince Yang You (Emperor Gong) Prince Yang Hao, Prince of Qin General Yuwen Huaji Rebel Tang Forces Li Yuan, Duke of Tang Li Shimin Lady Li/ Pingyang, Commander of the Woman's Army Gokturk Khannate Shibi Khan Works Cited Sima, Guang. Zizhi Tongjian. Wright, Arthur F. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3 Bennett Peterson, Barbara. Notable Women of China: From the Shang to the Early 20th Century Wen, Daya. The Diary of the Founding of the Great Tang