Li Che, courtesy name Guangda, is a man from Shuofang. His father, Li He, served as a pillar of the state during the Kaihuang period. Li Che is a man of strong character and great ability, tall and imposing, and skilled in martial arts. At that time, the powerful minister Yuwen Hu took a liking to him, treated him as a confidant, and later promoted him to the position of Sima in the Imperial Guards, eventually rising to the rank of Palace Commandant. Yuwen Hu valued Li Che for his caution, kindness, and capability, and treated him exceptionally well. When Yuwen Hu's son, Duke Yuwen Xun of Zhongshan, became the Governor of Puzhou, Yuwen Hu sent Li Che to accompany him while keeping his original position. Before long, Li Che was promoted to Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry, holding the title of Yitong Sanqi, and his official rank continued to rise.
During the time of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Li Che accompanied the Crown Prince to fight against the Tuyuhun, distinguished himself in battle, and was granted the title of Baron of Tongchang County, with a fief of three hundred households. Later, he joined the Emperor in attacking Jinzhou. When the Emperor returned to the capital after the campaign, Li Che and Prince Qi Yuwen Xian stayed behind at Jiqi Yuan. Emperor Gao Wei of Northern Qi led his army to attack, and to avoid a direct confrontation, Yuwen Xian led his troops to retreat westward. Gao Wei sent his fierce general Helan Bao to lead elite cavalry to pursue Yuwen Xian, and the two armies clashed north of Jinzhou City. Yuwen Xian's army faced defeat, but thanks to the desperate resistance of Li Che, Yang Su, and Yuwen Qing, they were able to save Yuwen Xian's forces. Afterwards, Li Che accompanied the Emperor in defeating the Northern Qi army on the north bank of the Fenshui River, pursued the victory, captured Gaobi, seized Jinzhong, and ultimately captured Gao Jie in Jizhou. Li Che played a key role in these campaigns. Due to these military achievements, Li Che was promoted to Kaifu and was additionally granted the title of Duke of Caiyang County, with a fief of one thousand households.
After Emperor Xuan of Sui ascended the throne, Li Che followed Wei Xiaokuan to pacify Huainan, always leading the charge. After the pacification of Huainan, Li Che was appointed as the Governor of Huaizhou. He effectively won over the newly surrendered people, and everyone liked him very much. After Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, ascended the throne, Li Che was promoted to the Chief of the Imperial Guards and transferred to be the Inspector of Yunzhou. Over a year later, he was summoned by the court and appointed as the General of the Left Guard. Later, Prince Jin, Yang Guang, was appointed to Bingzhou, and the court carefully selected talented individuals in both civil and military affairs to serve as his staff. The emperor believed that Li Che, as an old minister with extensive experience in leading troops in battle, should command the military affairs of Prince Jin's mansion and was even promoted to Duke of Qian. At that time, Prince Shu, Yang Xiu, was stationed in Yizhou. The emperor remarked to his ministers, "If only we had someone with the literary talent of Wang Zishi and the martial prowess of Li Guangda!" It is evident that the emperor held Li Che in high regard.
The following year, the Turkic Khan Shaboluelai launched another attack on our borders. The emperor appointed Prince Wei Shuang as the Grand Marshal to lead the troops against him and also appointed Yang Che, the brother of Yang Su, as the Chief of Military Affairs. They encountered the Turkic army on the White Road. The Chief of Staff, Li Chong, said to Prince Wei Shuang, "Look, since the Zhou and Qi dynasties, our central plains have been divided just like in the Warring States period. This situation has persisted for a long time. Every time the Turks invade, our generals only think about preserving themselves and no one dares to fight to the death. That's why the Turks win more and lose less, and they look down on our army more and more. Now Shaboluelai has brought out all their troops and set up camp in a strategic location; they are likely to be careless and underestimate us. If we send elite troops to launch a surprise attack, we will definitely win!" Prince Wei Shuang listened to his advice.
Many generals felt that Li Chong's plan was too risky, but only Yang Che vigorously supported the plan and actively requested to join the expedition. Therefore, Prince Wei Shuang and Li Chong led five thousand elite cavalry to launch a surprise attack, delivering a crushing defeat to the Turkic army. Shabolué was so frightened that he didn’t even have time to remove his golden armor before he fled into the bushes. Because of this great victory, Yang Che was promoted to Grand General. Shabolué was terrified and quickly surrendered, offering tribute. Not long after, Shabolué was bullied by Aba Khan again, so he quickly wrote a letter to the emperor for help. The emperor appointed Yang Che as the commander of the campaign, leading ten thousand elite cavalry to support him. When Aba Khan heard that Yang Che was coming, he fled in fear. After Yang Che returned in triumph, he continued to serve as the commander of the campaign, stationed in Pingliang to defend against Turkic invasions, and was also appointed as the Duke of Andao County. In the tenth year of Kaihuang, Yang Che was promoted again and became the Grand General of the Pillar State.
Later, Prince Jin Yang Guang went to Huaihai as the governor, and Yang Che was appointed as the commander of Yangzhou and also renamed as the Duke of Deguang County. Not long after, he was appointed as the Duke of Chengyang County. Later, when the Turks invaded the border again, Yang Che once again served as the commander of the campaign and defeated them.
The Left Chief Minister Gao Feng made a mistake and was punished. Because Yang Che had a good relationship with Gao Feng, he was also implicated and the emperor no longer favored him. Later, Yang Che expressed some grievances, which the emperor became aware of, so he summoned him to the palace, held a banquet for him in the inner palace, and chatted with him about the past. Consequently, Yang Che was poisoned in the palace. During the Daye period, his wife Yuwen Shi was falsely accused by his illegitimate son Yang Anyuan of cursing the emperor and was also executed.
Cui Peng, also known as Zipeng, is from Anping, Hebei. His grandfather, Cui Kai, was the Intendant of Yinzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty; his father, Cui Qian, was the Governor of Jingzhou in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Cui Peng lost his father at a young age, but he was very filial to his mother, earning a reputation for it. He had a strong personality, a natural talent for military affairs, excelled in horseback riding and archery, and was also well-versed in the "Zhouguan" and "Shangshu," understanding their principles.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Cui Peng was appointed as a Senior Officer in the Imperial Guards and later promoted to the position of Senior Officer of the Gate. When Yang Jian (Emperor Gaozu) became the Prime Minister, the Prince of Chen of the Zhou Dynasty was sent to guard Qizhou. Yang Jian was worried that the Prince of Chen could rebel, so he sent Cui Peng with two cavalrymen to bring the Prince back. When Cui Peng was thirty miles away from Qizhou, he pretended to be sick and stopped at a post station, sending someone to inform the Prince of Chen: "The Emperor has issued an edict for you. I, Cui Peng, am very sick and unable to travel. I hope you can come to the post station to see me." Suspicious of deception, the Prince of Chen arrived with many followers and cavalrymen. Cui Peng stepped out of the post station to greet him, noticing the Prince's doubts and fearing he wouldn't comply. He then deceived the Prince again, saying, "My lord, please avoid the others. I have something important to discuss with you in private." The Prince of Chen ordered his followers and cavalrymen to stand back, and Cui Peng said, "I have an imperial edict to read. Please dismount, my lord." The Prince of Chen quickly dismounted, and Cui Peng immediately ordered his cavalrymen, "The Prince of Chen is not obeying the imperial edict. Seize him!" The cavalrymen immediately captured and bound the Prince of Chen. Cui Peng loudly declared, "The Prince of Chen has committed a crime. The imperial edict summons him back to the court. You all are not allowed to intervene!" The Prince of Chen's followers were scared stiff and quickly took off.
Yang Jian was very happy to see him and appointed Cui Peng as Senior Protocol Officer. After Yang Jian became emperor, he promoted Cui Peng to be the Gate Supervisor, concurrently serving as the Chief of the Right Guard Corps, and also granted him the noble title of Marquis of Anyang County. Several years later, Cui Peng was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and soon after to General of the Valiant Cavalry, always responsible for the security of the imperial palace. He was meticulous and diligent, serving in the court for more than twenty years. Every time the emperor held court, he would sit there all day without showing any signs of slackness, and the emperor held him in high regard. The emperor often said to Cui Peng, "When you are on duty, I can sleep peacefully." The emperor once asked Cui Peng, "Your equestrian skills are unmatched; do you practice regularly?" Cui Peng replied, "I have loved 'The Rites of Zhou' and 'The Book of Documents' since I was young. Whenever I have time off, I never let my studies slip." The emperor said, "Then tell me about it." Cui Peng talked about the importance of caution in the relationship between rulers and subjects, and the emperor was very impressed, and the onlookers found his words quite reasonable. Later, the emperor appointed Cui Peng as Prefect, and then promoted him to General of the Guard. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he once hosted an envoy from the Turkic Khagan at the Wu De Hall for a banquet. During the banquet, a pigeon suddenly cooed from the rafters. The emperor ordered General Peng to take a shot at it, and General Peng hit it with a single arrow! The emperor was especially pleased and rewarded him with ten thousand pieces of silver.
When the Turkic envoy returned to his country, the Khan sent another envoy to the Tang Dynasty, saying, "Can General Cui come to see us?" The Emperor said, "It must be that the reputation of my General Peng as an archer has reached the Turks, so they want to see him." So General Peng was sent. When he arrived in Turkic territory, the Khan gathered dozens of skilled archers and scattered meat in the open to lure eagles, but most of the skilled archers failed to hit their targets. Then, the Khan asked General Peng to try. General Peng shot several arrows in succession, and each arrow struck true! The Turkic onlookers exchanged impressed glances. The Khan kept General Peng for several months before letting him return, and even gave him many silks and fabrics as gifts.
As the Ren Shou era was coming to an end, General Peng was promoted and appointed as the Duke of Anyang, with a fief that included two thousand households. After Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, General Peng was promoted to the position of Grand General of the Left Army. Once when Emperor Yang of Sui went to Luoyang, General Peng was in charge of the rear army. At that time, the remnants of Prince Liang of Han had just been subdued, and his followers were still gathering in various places. Emperor Yang of Sui sent General Peng to Shandong with tens of thousands of troops to suppress the rebellion, and appointed him as the Governor of Cizhou. Due to General Peng's integrity and uprightness, Emperor Yang of Sui rewarded him with five hundred pieces of silk. Shortly thereafter, General Peng passed away at the age of sixty-three. Emperor Yang of Sui sent envoys to express his condolences, posthumously elevated him to Grand General, and conferred upon him the posthumous title of "Su". His son Baode inherited his title.
Historical records evaluate: Individuals like Wang Changshu, some leading regions and others serving in the court, all made remarkable achievements, and ultimately concluded their lives with a legacy of merit. Each of them possessed commendable qualities. Yi Louqian had a broad mind, did not hold grudges for past enmities, and requested forgiveness for Gao Zun's crimes, demonstrating the qualities of a true patriot! General Cui Peng patrolled and guarded the court, with a stern and upright demeanor, difficult to infringe upon, perfectly suited to uphold the nation's defense.
