Wen | across the river
The Sui Emperor had three sons, among whom Empress Xiao gave birth to Yang Zhao, the Prince of Yuande, and Yang Huan, the Prince of Qi, and Concubine Xiao, who gave birth to Yang Gao, the Prince of Zhao. Prince Yuande died prematurely, and Yang Huan the Prince of Qi, Yang Gao the Prince of Zhao, and Yang Gao the Prince of Yan, the eldest son of Prince Yang Zhao of Yuande, were all killed by Yu Wenwen and killed along with the Sui Emperor during the Jiangdu Rebellion.
Three of Emperor Huan's grandsons survived, namely Prince Yuande's second son, Yang Tong (14), the Prince of Yue, who remained in the eastern capital Luoyang. The other was Prince Yuande's third son, Yang You (13 years old), who remained in Jingshi (Chang'an). In addition, after the change of Jiangdu, Yang Huan, the king of Qi, also left a widow, Yang Zhengdao.
First, in 617, Li Yuan attacked the Sui capital Daxing (長安), and installed the acting prince Yang You as emperor, while Emperor Yaozun of Sui as Emperor Taishang. Subsequently, after the death of the Sui Emperor, Yuan Wendu, Wang Shichong, and others who were responsible for staying in the eastern capital Luoyang were also located in the eastern capital Luoyang. Later historians usually called Yang You the Sui Gong Emperor, and Yang Dongsi the Yue King yang Dongsi as emperor Tai (emperor Tai). Why was he also the grandson of the Sui Emperor and was proclaimed emperor, but enjoyed unequal treatment?
Emperor Gong of Sui was given the title of Emperor Gong, and emperors before the Tang Dynasty were given the title of Emperor Gong. Emperor Tai was the era name, not the common title for the emperor at that time. And there is also a difference between "emperor" and "lord". When Chen Shou revised the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he honored Cao Wei as orthodox. The biographies of Cao Cao, Cao Pi and others are "Emperor Wu's Chronicle" and "Emperor Wen's Chronicle". The biographies of Liu Bei, Liu Chan, Sun Quan and others are "The Biography of the First Lord", "The Biography of the Later Lord", "The Biography of the Lord of Wu" and so on.
The difference between the emperor and the lord is a word, that is, to determine the right and the false. And the biography of the "emperor" is "Ji", and the biography of the "Lord" is called "chuan". Later generations took Yang You as the orthodox in order to legally confirm the legitimacy of the Zen concession procedure between the Sui and Tang dynasties (Yang Youchan's transfer to Li Yuan). Between Yang Tong and Wang Shichong, although there was already a Zen concession procedure, because Wang Shichong ultimately failed and did not establish a relatively long-term dynasty, the Zen concession procedure was not recognized and was identified as a pseudo-lineage. Therefore, Yang Tong did not enjoy the standard treatment of the emperor.