In 578, Northern Zhou's Emperor Wu died and was succeeded by his erratic and cruel son Emperor Xuan. In 580, Emperor Xuan died as well, and Emperor Xuan's father-in-law Yang Jian seized power as regent over Emperor Xuan's young son Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou. The Northern Zhou general Yuchi Jiong, suspicious of Yang's intentions, rose at Yecheng against Yang. Most Western Liang generals advised Emperor Ming to align himself with Yuchi—reasoning that if Yuchi were successful, he would be rewarded with being loyal to the imperial Yuwen clan, while if Yuchi were not successful, he could nevertheless take this opportunity to seize some territory. However, when Emperor Ming sent the official Liu Zhuang (柳莊) to Chang'an to observe the situation, Yang, citing that he had previously been a guest of Emperor Ming while he was stationed as a general at Jiangling (although historical records do not indicate when he was there), begged Western Liang's loyalty. Liu, believing that Yuchi would not succeed, returned to Jiangling and advised Emperor Ming to side with Yang. Emperor Ming agreed, and subsequently, when Yang defeated Yuchi, commented to Liu, "If I had listened to the others, the empire would have been destroyed."