Lai Hu'er, courtesy name Chongshan, titled Duke of Rong, was a general in

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...

of China. He played an important role in the conquest of Chen dynasty in 589, as well as the campaigns against

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

led by Emperor Yang.

In history

Lai Hu'er was born in Guangling (today's Yangzhou) during the late

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period. His parents died when he was young, and he was adopted by Aunt Wu, the wife of his father's elder brother. In 581, Yang Jian overthrew the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

dynasty and established

. To prepare for the war against Chen dynasty in the south, Sui dynasty ordered the general He Ruobi to lead a troop to guard Shouzhou, a city near Guangling. Lai Hu'er thus had a chance to join the Sui army. He Ruobi sent Lai Hu'er to Chen dynasty as a spy. Lai Hu'er made several contributions as a spy and was promoted to be a Da Dudu (). In 589, Sui launched massive campaigns against the Chen dynasty in order to unify China. Lai Hu'er took part in this war and was further promoted to be a high-ranked official in the military after the war. In 590, because people in the previous Chen dynasty were unaccustomed of Sui's laws, they rebelled against Sui under the leadership of Gao Zhihui. The

Emperor Wen of Sui The Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), alias Narayana () deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. The ''Book of ...

ordered

Yang Su Yang Su (楊素; died August 31, 606), courtesy name Chudao (處道), formally Duke Jingwu of Chu (楚景武公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Sui dynasty whose authority eventually became nearly as supreme as the emperor' ...

and Lai Hu'er to put down the rebellion. During the campaign, Lai Hu'er provided a good strategy that eventually helped Sui defeat the rebels. After this campaign, Lai Hu'er was promoted to be the Grand General, given a title of Duke of Xiangyang County, and appointed to be the governor of

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

. In the same year, Lai Hu'er defeated some other remnants forces of Gao Zhihui and was promoted to Duke of Yongning Prefecture. In 604 after Emperor Yang became the new emperor, Lai Hu'er was promoted to be a top general of the royal guard army in the central court. His title was also promoted to be Duke of Rong. He was the favorite general to Emperor Yang. When Emperor Yang was touring the empire, he always let Lai Hu'er to be his personal guard outside of the palace. During his service as a senior general, he discovered the talent of

Qin Shubao Qin Qiong (died 638), courtesy name Shubao, better known as Qin Shubao, was a Chinese general who lived in the early Tang dynasty of China. Along with Yuchi Gong, he continues to be worshipped in China as a door god. He is also known by his post ...

and predicted that Qin would eventually be a great general. In 612, Emperor Yang launched his first campaign against

. In this campaign, Lai Hu'er was appointed to be the Chief Commander of Pyongyang Circuit. He led the naval force of

to attack Goguryeo, and defeated the Goguryeo army 30 kilometers away from the

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

city. He then ordered his troops to attack Pyongyang. His vice commander

Zhou Fashang Zhou may refer to: Chinese history * King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty * Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty * Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China ** West ...

suggested that they should be careful because Goguryeo people were good at ambushing. Lai Hu'er did not take that suggestion. He marched towards the Pyongyang city with 40,000 men, and was ambushed by Goguryeo army outside of the city. Fortunately, Zhou Fashang reinforced him with the rest of the Sui troops so that Lai Hu'er managed to retreat back to the harbor. After other circuits of Sui dynasty attacking the Goguryeo from land were all defeated in Liaodong, Lai Hu'er retreated back to Sui dynasty. In 613, Emperor Yang launched the second campaign against Goguryeo. Lai Hu'er, again, was ordered to lead the navy as the Chief Commander of Canghai Circuit to attack Pyongyang from the sea. Not long after the campaign started,

Yang Xuangan Yang Xuangan (楊玄感 ''Yáng Xuángǎn''; died 613) was a Chinese military general and politician who lived during the Sui Dynasty. He was the son of Yang Su, a military general and politician himself, as he knew that Emperor Yang was apprehen ...

rebelled against Sui in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

. Lai Hu'er decided to draw back from Korea immediately and to encircle Yang Xuangan with some of other Sui generals such as

Yuwen Shu Yuwen Shu (; died 616), courtesy name Botong (伯通), formally Duke Gong of Xu (許恭公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Sui dynasty. He was a confidant of Emperor Yang (Yang Guang) and was instrumental in Yang Guang's di ...

. His vice commander

was afraid that if they draw back without the permission from the emperor, they would be punished. Lai said that Goguryeo was only like a minor illness, but Yang Xuangan was like a life-threatening disease to Sui dynasty. Then, he took his men back to Sui dynasty and eventually suppressed Yang Xuangan along with other Sui forces. The emperor was pleased with his decision and promoted him to be a chancellor. In 614, during the third campaign against Goguryeo, Lai Hu'er led the navy for the third time and defeated Goguryeo army during a battle at Sabi. King Yeongyang of Goguryeo was scared by Lai's attack and thus surrendered to Emperor Yang. Lai planned to continue attacking the Goguryeo, but the emperor accepted Goguryeo's surrender and asked Lai to withdraw. In 615, when Emperor Yang was touring the northern border of the emperor, he was encircled by Tujue at

Yanmen Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, contr ...

. Lai Hu'er led his troop to protect the general at Yanmen, and successfully held the city until reinforcements led by other Sui generals such as

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

and

Wang Shichong Wang Shichong (; 567– August 621), courtesy name Xingman (行滿), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician during the Sui dynasty who deposed Sui's last emperor Yang Tong and briefly ruled as the emperor of a succeeding state ...

arrived. In 618, when Emperor Yang was touring the

Jiangdu Jiangdu (), historically known as Kiangtu is one of three districts of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The district spans an area of , and as of November 1, 2020, has 926,577 inhabitants. Formerly a county, Jiangdu became a district in July 199 ...

Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huaji (; died March 22, 619) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician of the Sui Dynasty who, in 618, led a coup against and murdered Emperor Yang of Sui. He subsequently declared Emperor Yang's nephew Yang Hao emperor and ...

led a military mutiny. Emperor Yang was killed. Lai Hu'er was also killed during the fight in order to protect the emperor. Most of his sons were also executed by Yuwen Huaji after the mutiny.

In popular culture

Lai Hu'er was one of the prototypes that inspired the creation of the popular fictional figure Yang Lin. Folk tale writers in ancient China mixed stories of Lai Hu'er,

Zhang Xutuo Zhang Xutuo, courtesy name Guo, was one of the most celebrated generals during the Sui dynasty. He was best known for his achievements in suppressing rebellions and uprisings during Emperor Yang's reign. In history Zhang Xutuo originally served i ...

and Yang Shuang and created the story of Yang Lin that would be one of the most celebrated fictional figures in the folk culture. In some other versions of folk tales, Lai Hu'er was portrayed as a great warrior whose weapon was a steel spear.

Family

Notable ancestors: *Lai She: Marquis of Pacifying the Qiang in

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

*Lai Leng: Cousin of

Emperor Guangwu Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC – 29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han (Later ...

of Han dynasty *Lai Yan: A chancellor in Han dynasty *

Lai Min Lai Min ( 160s – 260s), courtesy name Jingda, was an official and scholar of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Life Lai Min was from Xinye County (), Yiyang Commandery (), which is present-day Xinye County, Henan ...

: A general and scholar of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period Great Grandfather: *Lai Cheng: Marquis of Xinye County in

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

dynasty, and later surrendered to

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

Grandfather: *Lai Yi: A mid-ranked general in Liang dynasty Father: *Lai Famin: A local governor in Chen dynasty Sons: Lai Hu'er had 12 sons. Six of them were recorded in the history with names. Other sons were all killed by Yuwen Huaji during the mutiny in Jiangdu. *Lai Kai: the eldest son. A mid-ranked official in the central court of Sui dynasty, and was killed by

. *Lai Yuan: the second son. Joined the rebellion of

, and was defeated by Lai Hu'er and

. *Lai Hong: the fifth son. A high-ranked official in the central court of Sui dynasty, and was killed by

. *Lai Zheng: the sixth son. Duke of Xiangyang County. Killed by

. *

Lai Heng Lai Heng () (died November 18, 678) was an official of the Tang dynasty of China, serving as chancellor during the reign of the Emperor Gaozong. Background Lai Heng's family was from Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu). His father Lai ...

: the eleventh son. Survived in the Jiangdu Mutiny, and became a chancellor in

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. *

Lai Ji Lai Ji () (610–662) was Chinese military general and politician during the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. He later offended Emperor Gaozong by opposing the ascension of Emperor Gaozong's second wife Emp ...

: the twelfth son. Survived in the Jiangdu Mutiny, and became a chancellor in

.''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'': 济异母兄恒，上元中，为黄门侍郎、同中书门下三品，父本骁将，而恒、济俱以学行称，相次知政事。时虞世南子昶无才术，历将作少匠、工部侍郎，主工作。许敬宗曰：“护儿儿作相，世南男作匠，文武岂有种邪？” Notable descendant: *Monk Benzhi

References

{{reflist Sui dynasty generals Transition from Sui to Tang 618 deaths People from Yangzhou Generals from Jiangsu