In late spring 618, the Xiaoguo officers carried out their plot, and as they were trusted officers, they were able to quickly gain access to the palace. They quickly entered the palace, initially declaring that they were only intending to ask Emperor Yang to return to Chang'an, but soon showed that they intended more by starting to denounce Emperor Yang for his crimes, as well as killing his youngest son Yang Gao, the Prince of Zhao. Emperor Yang offered to commit suicide by poison, but poison could not be found quickly, and so one of the officers, Linghu Xingda (令狐行達), strangled him with his scarf as he requested.